The Quiet Challenge of Zero Waste 'Sewing Patterns'
- Tara Deighton
- Apr 9
- 3 min read
I have always had a tricky relationship with the zero waste concept! I think in part because, up until recently, the offering for garments sewn using this method have been rather, well... frumpy! As someone who loves the elegance of the 1930's, zero waste seemed the antithesis. More The Good Life then the Glamorous Life!
But I have had a change of mind and, as is often the way with me, a change of heart and I shall tell you why!
A lovely Patreon student asked if I could come up with an idea for a simple top to make for Summer using 1 metre or less of fabric. At the same time, I was looking at some amazing magazine articles from the 1920's about using silk handkerchiefs to make negligee and the 2 things collided in my mind!
Historical methods of creating garments all honoured the preciousness of the cloth, something modern sewing patterns really don't do. Textiles were once worth their weight in gold and up until recently it was deemed sacrilegious to flippantly waste an expensive resource. How much waste is leftover both in terms of paper and then the fabric when you embark on a sewing project? This troubles me!
I thought about my love of Kimono and Japanese garments, all constructed around the concept of narrow widths of beautifully woven cloth, nothing left to waste. And then the great Dame Viv who loved a rectangle and many of her designs were actually completely centred on zero waste pattern cutting methods.
Learn Zero Waste Pattern Cutting here
I asked myself the questions ~ what if all the fabric could all be used in a simple, stylish garment? And can I create designs that fit my vintage inspired aesthetic using zero waste principles?
And what do you know, the answer was a resounding YES!
I shared 3 fabulous and incredibly stylish ideas that were simplicity themselves in my live pattern cutting tutorial and the feedback from my students was incredible! We looked at a zero waste Tee shirt, A Vivienne Westwood style blouse and a 1920's jacket. All super simple to draft, so PERFECT for beginners, each quick to sew and would look wonderful sewn up in precious fabrics with absolutely no scrap wasted!
Zero waste pattern cutting asks you to slow down and be present with your creative practice. To design not just for how something looks on the body, but how it exists as cloth. And actually, I've realised through this wonderful tutorial topic, that you actually don't have to compromise between the two at all! You can have the sustainable zero waste and the aesthetic glamour!
This way of working has shaped some of my own patterns too which I hadn't fully realised until now.
Greta and Calypso were both designed with zero waste principles at their core — each one a balance between form, function, and fabric efficiency.
They’re not just garments, but examples of what’s possible when constraints become creative tools. And that’s really the heart of zero waste as a concept! It isn’t limiting — it’s expansive.
If you’re curious about exploring this approach more deeply, I’m sharing all my pattern cutting tutorials and techniques from beginner to pro over on Patreon. It’s where I teach my students the fundamentals of pattern cutting and show them how to create sewing patterns for clothes that make them feel amazing.
I feel I have a wonderful adventure in zero waste pattern cutting ahead of me because now I've started re thinking my perception of this concept, I see a wonderful creative journey and an opportunity to create some really beautiful clothes for my handmade wardrobe!
Tara x
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